Chapter 133 Inspiration: Let them try.
Compared to the previous day, the atmosphere on the second day of the finals was significantly more intense.
Before the start of the finals, Nina from the United States withdrew from the competition due to a foot injury, and Elizabeth from Russia took her place.
This isn't the first withdrawal this season. Even before the preliminary rounds began, many athletes withdrew from all four events due to various injuries, as they were preparing for the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Xia Yuezi looked at the three Russian girls practicing on the ice rink, her expression serious.
If she remembered correctly, the judges for this short program included one each from China, Russia, and Canada on the nine-person judging panel, one technical expert from Japan, and the head judge was American, which made up for the nationalities of the six contestants on stage and those who withdrew.
Among the nine judges, there are two from small countries affiliated with Russia or the United States. These judges are extremely unfair to players who are not from their own faction.
In short, the judges' scores in this short program were probably more interesting than the contestants' performances.
"Xiao Yan is doing well; she achieved 3A in both Hele and Liulian."
Seeing her partner's displeased expression, Meng Xin couldn't help but speak up to ease the tension.
"She's in good shape, but Polina and Mengchuan are doing well too; their success rate with 3A is very high."
Yumikawa Ria was injured last season and almost never participated in the main race with 3A. This season, she has recovered to most of her previous level in the two races. As for Polina, whether it is 3A or 3A+3T, she has made mistakes in the past two seasons, but she has not fallen yet.
Xia Yuezi's concerns didn't stop there.
In other words, these three athletes, who have been battling since the youth group, are equally matched in terms of injuries and difficulty level, but in terms of treatment from the judges, Yang Yiyan is undoubtedly the worst.
Last season at the World Championships, Yang Yiyan and Mengchuan Aya were both in a state of near-collapse, playing pain-killing games to fight for their country's spots. Even their setups were similar, but with almost identical BV scores, Mengchuan's GOE and program component scores were significantly higher than hers.
Especially now that we're playing on their home turf, it's hard to say what kind of score we'll get.
After the first three contestants finished their matches, the atmosphere in the entire venue was clearly pushed to a climax. Anyone could see that this final was undoubtedly a clash before the Olympics.
"Who do you think will win this final?" He Jiayun asked from the stands.
She had already seen the prediction posts on the forum, and even accidentally saw her junior skaters betting on each other in a group chat on their phones during training. The battleground wasn't just the Grand Prix Final, but had even extended to the Olympics.
She shamelessly approached and casually placed a bet on her newly bought makeup primer for her teammate in the final betting game. If Yang Yiyan lost, her own primer wouldn't be enough to cover the losses.
Cao Jinhui touched her waist through her coat and slightly moved the waist brace she had wrapped around her.
"It's hard to say. Mengchuan and Polina have both won gold medals in the finals, and their recent form is improving. But Xiaoyan's difficulty isn't limited to satellites. She's never ranked below the top four in the finals. It all depends on whether she can seize the opportunity."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yumekawa Ria stumbled on the landing of her 3A jump, but managed to steady herself by holding onto the ice with her hands, preventing Goe from hooking her too hard.
In fact, in the second event, Yumekawa Ria also made a mistake on the 3A. Even though she tried her best to catch up in the free skate, she still lost by a hair's breadth to Claire, who performed perfectly.
Xia Yuezi frowned slightly: "Her recovery was too rapid; her injuries should still be affecting her."
Ms. Chishima stood at the entrance, her eyes filled with deep worry and heartache, and said softly, "You don't have to do this."
Yumikawa Ria relieved the pain in her back with deep breaths, slowly put on her team uniform, and gently shook her head at the coach: "There are plenty of people with injuries. Shirai-senpai went through the same thing back then. I can still handle it."
What she didn't finish saying was that there are now too many young women's singles players in Japan, and the number of participants in various national competitions is increasing.
Although she fought desperately to save three spots for Japan, Japan has always decided its fate with the All-Japan Championships. Even if she gets a direct pass to the All-Japan Championships, she still has to be wary of the Japan Ice Hockey Association making things difficult for her.
If someone were to withdraw from a match due to a minor injury, no one knows what accusations the Japanese media would level against them.
But how could Ms. Chishima, who had long been aware of the style of the leaders of the Japan Ice Hockey Association and various factions, not know? She could only silently swallow the words she wanted to say to her sensible apprentice.
Next up was Polina. Both of her programs this year had a strong Russian flavor, and her slide was also above average, so the judges were very impressed with her.
Her short program was based on the Soviet literary work "Doctor Zhivago." Wearing a light blue kostemma pen, her blue eyes looking up at the ceiling were captured by a photographer, which attracted many fans to Polina before the Olympics.
"You really have to taste your own country's literature to get the real flavor."
Meng Xin propped her head up with her hand and gave her evaluation, her eyes filled with a hint of admiration.
Last season, a German female singles skater used "Doctor Zhivago" in her free skate. Although she hadn't read the original book, she saw a lot of comments from Russian figure skating fans on foreign websites, as well as comments from figure skating fans in other countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The comments were all sarcastic, and some people even subtly suggested that she change her program next season.
The Russian coaching staff was probably inspired by this incident, as many of the athletes chose songs from literary works this season.
Xia Yuezi didn't reply, but turned to look at Yang Yiyan, who was warming up in the shadows.
The little girl, seemingly oblivious to everything else, slowly massaged her thigh muscles, waiting for Polina to finish her performance.
Determined not to drain her wallet, He Jiayun clasped her hands together in front of her chest and muttered incantations from the moment Yang Yiyan stepped onto the ice.
Lu Sheng, sitting in the back, burst out laughing when he saw this: "Although this match is not easy, you don't need to be this nervous. You seem even more nervous than you were in your own match yesterday."
He Jiayun scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled twice at his senior brother. Qi Ran, the only one who knew the inside story, covered his eyes and turned his head away, not wanting to see his partner's current state.
Yang Yiyan had the fewest injuries among the three, and her ability to consistently deliver high-difficulty performances was naturally the highest. There was nothing to criticize about her movements, and she ultimately scored 81 points, securing second place in the short program, less than one point behind Polina.
Xia Yuezi breathed a sigh of relief and patted Yang Yiyan on the shoulder: "Alright, the referee was pretty lenient today."
Yang Yiyan nodded, waved to the camera with a polite smile, and then followed the staff to collect her small medal after the scores were announced.
Before the interview area was even set up, Polina and Yumikawa Ria stood by and waited, waving to Yang Yiyan.
"Congratulations, today's 3A was really good."
After so many years of competition, Polina's English has improved a lot. At least she no longer speaks with a trilled "r" sound, and people can understand what she is saying.
Yang Yiyan smiled in response, initiating a mutual flattery session: "Your footwork today was also amazing. The moment you came out with the Swallow Style, I almost burst into tears."
She looked at Yumikawa Ria, who hadn't said a word, and noticed that her hand was still behind her back for support. She asked, "Your injury..."
Yumikawa Ria paused, then forced a smile: "It's okay, it's an old problem. At least the free skate is still fine."
Even though the two athletes weren't as quick-witted as their own ice hockey association leaders, they still picked up on the unspoken meaning.
Polina tentatively asked, "You're retiring after Pyeongchang, right?"
Yumikawa Ria nodded without hesitation: "But my passion for figure skating will not change. Maybe I will become a coach like your senior in the future, and you will still see me on the ice."
After saying that, she raised an eyebrow at Yang Yiyan and asked, "What about you? Although your injuries are probably not as serious as ours, you'll be 20 after the Pyeongchang tournament."
The venue for the next Winter Olympics has been selected. If Yang Yiyan can take good care of her body, it's not impossible for her to hold on for another cycle.
However, the Chinese women's singles team is developing quite well now. They went to watch the youth group matches, and those two kids have a very solid foundation. They will definitely become a strong opponent for their juniors after they move up to the adult group.
Yang Yiyan met Meng Chuanli's gaze and smiled slightly, seemingly unsure how to answer.
She raised her hand and shrugged, her tone joking: "Who knows? While I can still skate, I'll skate for a few more years, so that when you guys retire, I can win a few more gold medals."
The last sentence amused the two of them. Polina put one hand on Yang Yiyan's shoulder, closing the distance between them, but her eyes held a hint of admiration: "I say you look down on our younger generation too much. The newcomers in Russia are all eyeing us covetously."
Yumikawa Ria was equally unyielding: "We Japanese are not bad either. Last year's East and West Japan competitions produced many new talents, especially in the primary and secondary school competitions. Some of them are the contestants in this year's youth group leg competitions."
Yang Yiyan blinked, her tone relaxed yet confident.
"Then let them try. I'll be waiting."
-----------------------
The author's note: Japan's National Championships qualifying system is different from that in China. They first arrange two tournaments, East Japan and West Japan, and only the top players qualify for the championship. Direct entry cards are usually given to the top three seeded players from the previous National Championships, or players who are exempt from qualifying for the Grand Prix.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
